However, it was impossible to shake the feeling that United were not running enough during the match. The players looked slow and passive as Fulham created far too many chances against a creaking defence. The home side looked sharper, more agile around the pitch.

Gary Neville stoked the fire after Fulham’s goal on commentary duty for Sky Sports, fuming: “I’ve watched United since I was five, and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen them play. Absolutely pathetic.”

Neville continued his rant in the studio after the game. And then an alternative view was presented: What if the lack of running was actually by design?

There’s an element of truth to that argument. United’s players are not told to mark man-for-man like many teams in the Premier League, which has seen games regularly decided by who can duel and battle the hardest.

Carrick wants his players to defend zonally, so they were in the positions they were supposed to be against Fulham. But you’re now probably thinking, if that was the case, then why did United look so poor against a team that sat at the bottom of the table going into the clash?

Youri Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes started in midfield again, and a pivot of Tielemans and Mainoo, as talented as both players are, is certainly not the most mobile midfield duo in the Premier League.

Tielemans has played senior football since he was 15. He established himself as one of the league’s best technicians during his time with Aston Villa, but he was not signed by United to provide running power in midfield.

Carrick knows the strengths of the players at his disposal and wanted to transition to a more possession-based team this season, which would theoretically give United more control and help them progress as a team.

United had 56 per cent possession against Fulham, which shows there is still some way to go to match Manchester City and Arsenal, who dominate the ball against bottom-half teams.

Carlos Baleba will help after the international break. He is not only a brilliant passer, a non-negotiable for a midfielder in Carrick’s team, but he can eat up ground and clock up the kilometres than Tielemans cannot.

The analytics team will present the running statistics to Carrick during the international break, and it would be fascinating to know whether he agrees it’s an issue, or believes it’s a result of the way his team has been set up.

The statistics have been used as a stick to bash Carrick after the disappointing Fulham draw, as in the Premier League, United are bottom for out-of-possession distance at high intensity, time spent at high intensity, sprints and time sprinting.

The interesting thing is that City, who are top of the league, are joint-last with United on high-speed runs, but when sprinting distance is also added to a scatter plot, City essentially distance themselves from United.

Take a quick glance at the scatter graph below. You do need to be a data analyst to conclude that United are not where they should be. The Reds should be around where Tottenham sit on the graph because ball recoveries are required for a successful possession-based team.

And what is needed to have a high percentage recovery rate as a team? High-intensity distance and sprints. They are intrinsically linked.

Perhaps Tottenham are not a great example because they have gone into the international break sitting bottom of the league after spending £334 million in the summer, but the graph shows that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Spurs outrun United when they meet at Old Trafford on October 10.

The statistics explain why United are late to recover second balls, why they are late to arrive in the box, and why their phases of play can become stale-looking, which could be put down to conditioning.

United were happy with their pre-season schedule, which saw them stay in Europe for the first time since 2002 (excluding Covid-impacted years). They jetted to European cities, stayed a night at a hotel, played a friendly and returned to Manchester on the same day as the game.

The players who represented their nations at the World Cup reported back to Carrington after each individual had had a three-week break, the exact same time they have been given off after previous major tournaments.

Internally at United, there are no qualms about the team’s preparation over the summer. Some critics have pointed to Tielemans’ interview with Rio Ferdinand in pre-season when he said there hadn’t been “lots of running”, an alleged smoking gun, but he’d just returned from playing at the World Cup, so wouldn’t have lost much fitness.

Carrick did change training when he was appointed in January, putting on shorter sessions but with more intense days, and the tweak was hugely successful, helping him to pick up more points than other top-flight manager during his time in charge last term.

However, it’s plausible that the tweak in training has eventually affected the players’ ability to perform high-intensity actions.

Carrick did not bring his own fitness coach to United when he was appointed. The contracts of his backroom staff were renegotiated when he was hired full-time, but no further additions were made to his coaching team.

Ruben Amorim had his own physical performance coach at United, Paulo Barreira, who had previously worked at Arsenal and Liverpool. Amorim made plenty of mistakes during a disastrous 14-month tenure, but his United team were regarded as being in good condition.

Barreira departed when Amorim was sacked. Sam Erith, performance director at United, has been in his role for over two years, so he has overseen the transition to Carrick, and it would be within his remit to recommend an appointment if he felt it was needed.

There are dedicated physical performance coaches, such as Edward Leng and Charlie Owen (the latter guides the team through running drills at the start of training), but it’s interesting that Amorim brought his own performance coach into the building to complement the existing staff.

Carrick recently bristled at the suggestion that a set-piece coach could be added to his backroom staff, so he would likely take umbrage again at a anyone asking whether a physical performance coach was required, given what that question would imply about his team.

Ultimately, the statistics back up the lethargic visual impression United have given fans. There are clearly mitigating factors, but it’s hard to believe United are outright at the bottom of some key metrics entirely by design.

It’s a talking point people are starting to discuss. That conversation has grown louder due to bad results.

What a fun evening of Sunday night football! Free football and both of our touchdown scorers get home. We had an excellent Sunday overall, going 3-0 on prop bets (with one void) and hitting three longshot touchdowns. Let’s keep our NFL betting success rolling for Monday Night Football in a fun matchup between two teams — the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams — with surprising records heading into the final game of the second week. Bet on Monday Night Football at DraftKings, where new users get $150 in bonus bets after they spend $5+:

New York dominated the Cowboys in Week 1 to secure John Harbaugh’s first victory, while the Rams, despite being the prohbitive preseason Super Bowl favorite, laid a complete egg against the 49ers in Australia. I’d expect the Rams to come out fired up for this one and it sure looks like the 49ers might be a complete truck, so their loss isn’t quite as bad as maybe it seemed when you couple it with the travel mistakes Down Under. The Cowboys also looked awesome in Week 2, though, so let’s not shortchange what the Giants did last week. Get a $55 bonus after $25 in trades by claiming the latest Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS55 here:

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Best bets for Monday Night Football

Rams -6.5

Although Week 2 was brutal for a lot of heavier favorites (the Ravens, Bucs and Chargers all lost outright, dooming a lot of survivor entries), I’m not going to shy away from what I think is the right side here, as long as it’s under seven points. The Rams are still the Rams, and even though Myles Garrett isn’t there, they’ll be getting Aaron Donald for some snaps in this one. 

Matthew Stafford may be without Puka Nacua Monday night, which is certainly concerning. But the Rams can control the ball with their elite run game and I expect a good game from Davante Adams.

The Rams will come out sharp, get a lead, get the ball out of Cam Skattebo’s hands and make the Giants throw a ton. I know Donald is only playing around 30 snaps, but I really do expect them to be meaningful and produce at least one game/spread-swinging pressure or turnover. 

Monday Night Football player props

Malik Nabers Over 5.5 receptions (-114, DraftKings) 

Malik Nabers didn’t think he was going to play in Week 1 until John Harbaugh decided to tackle him before the game and scare him into playing. Coming off a torn ACL, he still had six catches on nine targets against the Cowboys. And while this matchup is significantly tougher for the second-year pro, I think the confidence of playing, coupled with the Giants potentially in a negative gamescript, bode really well for Nabers producing, particularly in the second half. Once he starts having big Nabers games, we won’t see lines this low.

Blake Corum Over 10.5 carries (+126, DraftKings)

Let’s lean into the narrative that the Rams are going to have a lead for much of this game and target their “backup” running back Blake Corum, who clearly is going to see something along the lines of a 60/40 time share at minimum with Kyren Williams. If the Rams have a double-digit lead, I can assure you Sean McVay is going to feed Corum and he’s also a decent bet for some high-value, short-yardage carries to keep the tally going. Bet on NFL player props and more at BetMGM:

Monday Night Football anytime touchdowns

Isaiah Likely (+290, FanDuel)

I don’t really understand this price? Isaiah Likely scored twice last week and is clearly a breakout candidate this season without having to share targets at the tight end position. He’s got a coaching staff that loves to draw up plays for him, a quarterback who trusts him and there’s a decent chance the Giants are throwing a lot in the second half. Likely is coming off an eight-target, eight-catch game. I guess the argument is the spread and the team total, but the Giants are expected to score close to three touchdowns. I’ll happily take almost 3-1 on this.  

Davante Adams (-120, FanDuel) 

After hitting some longer shots in our weekly column, we’re going to eat some chalk here on the Rams and Davante Adams. He’s -125ish across the best betting apps so it’s not an insane price and McVay will want to make his star wide receiver happy. Plus, this isn’t really pricing this as if Puka Nakua isn’t playing — I’d think Adams would close closer to -140 once we know that Puka is out. And even if Puka plays, it’s fine, because Adams is such a lethal goal line weapon. There’s no way they can keep him off the field around the goal line again after the disaster in Australia. 

The San Francisco 49ers beat the visiting Miami Dolphins 35-13 on Sunday behind a standout performance from Nick Bosa, who earned the highest defensive grade of 84.5 PFF over 40 snaps. In addition, the defensive end recorded three assisted tackles.

Bosa’s girlfriend, Ella Ailiff, attended the win and didn’t fail to turn fans’ heads with her stylish game-day outfit, which she also showed off with two pictures in her Instagram stories.

The first one was a shot from the sidelines, in which she smiled as the wind blew her hair.

The second story featured a mirror selfie which gave a complete look at her outfit. It included a black bomber-style jacket with the 49ers logo, which she wore over a white ribbed tank top. She paired it with white ivory bootcut jeans with a button-front waist. The model finished her fit with brown pointed-toe ankle boots and black shades.

“For home opener,” she captioned her mirror selfie.

It was Bosa’s second regular season after coming off his knee injury. In the postgame news conference, Bosa talked about playing at home for the first time after completing a year-long rehab.

“It felt amazing,” he said. “The atmosphere is great. I felt a lot better this week just physically. My knee kind of adapted this week after the first game, and I felt like myself.”

ALSO READ: Nick Bosa’s mom Cheryl makes her stance clear as 49ers star gets green light for Week 1 return vs. Rams in Australia

Nick Bosa’s GF, Ella Ailiff, demonstrated modeling skills in white swimwear

Two weeks before cheering for Nick Bosa in the 49ers’ Week 2 game, Ella Ailiff caught fans’ attention with her modeling talent. Ailiff shared an Instagram post featuring pictures in different swimwear.

In one photo, she posed next to a tree, wearing a one-piece swimsuit with a white lace cover-up.

On the other slide, Ailiff wore a floral swimsuit. It had flowers in a color combination of blue and vibrant turquoise along with an off-shoulder neckline. Her pictures also drew compliments from fans as well as Olivia Ponton.

Fans may next get to see the model cheer for Bosa and the 49ers (2-0) in their Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals (1-1) on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.